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Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Cameron Highlands Waters Tainted with Pesticides

By Chela Vázquez

Once again Cameron Highlands
in Malaysia takes the stage for the dubious honor of being a highly polluted
place. Here, vegetables are grown for export and for internal consumption
across the country and overseas markets, raising concerns about the safety of
the food produced and consumed in Malaysia.

Researchers from University
Kebangsaan Malaysia over a 5-month study, August-December 2014, in Cameron
Highlands of the surface waters of two rivers, Bertam and Terla, and tap water
in the town of Brinchang, have found residues of highly toxic organochlorine pesticides
(OCs). These results were presented at a seminar
with government officials and the general public in Cameron Highlands on March
6, 2015. A local organization, REACH, and Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific
co-hosted the event.

Potential Health Impacts

“The people of Cameron
Highlands have the right to know about poisons present in the water they drink.
Furthermore, consumers in Malaysia must know about pesticide residues found in
their food” said Sarojeni Rengam from PAN Asia Pacific.

The highly toxic pesticide
residues found on surface water and in the drinking water of pipes, sends
alarming signals about the long-term human health impact in Brinchang and other
towns which depend on the same sources for drinking water.

OCs
have affinity for fat tissue and are found in most living organisms. Their
ability to adhere to soil particles and affinity to fat tissue facilitate their
long-range transport across the globe. They are infamous for their presence in
places where they have never been produced nor used. In pristine environments
like the Arctic, even the polar bears have OCs in their bodies, and breastmilk
of indigenous women in Alaska contain OC concentrations that are among the
highest in the world.

OC chemicals are known for
their adverse health impact at low dose of exposure over log periods of time
because they bioaccumulate inside living organisms. They are known endocrine
disruptors, capable of mimicking hormones such as estrogen. In lab animals and
wildlife exposed to OC chemicals, birth defects, behavioral abnormalities,
impaired fertility have been observed in the offspring of parents exposed to
these chemicals, indicating hormonal disruption during prenatal development.

Illegal Pesticides

Most of the pesticide
residues were breakdown products belonging to the insecticides endosulfan,
aldrin, methoxychlor, eldrin, lindane, DDT, and heptachlor oxide, which have
been banned in Malaysia years ago. OC chemicals are persistent and adhere to
soil particles, therefore their presence in water might originate from their leaching
out of the soil. However, the presence of undegraded endosulfan II in water,
suggests application of this insecticide on agricultural fields around a year
ago.

At the meeting in Cameron
Highlands, Mr. Rama from REACH, presented to the press several illegal
pesticides, that ranged from labels in foreign language, repackaged pesticides
sold in bags with poor labeling, and methomyl, an insecticide classified by the
World Health Organization as class 1 because of its high toxicity. Methomyl has
never been registered in Malaysia.

This study only measured OC
pesticides in water. It did not test for the presence of organophophorus
compounds, carbamates, pyrethroids, fungicides, and toxic herbicides, which are
also known to be in high use in Cameron Highlands.

Further Research and Action are needed

The OC findings in Cameron
Highlands’ waters point to the need to obtain more information on the presence
of pesticide residues in water and also on food. This would be an exercise on
the public Right to Know on matters that affect their health and particularly
the development of young children.

Regarding the presence of
illegal toxic pesticides, it calls for urgent action to prevent further
poisoning the environment and endangering human health. Additionally,
monitoring of human health, particularly of agricultural workers and farmers is
needed. Finally, implementing policies to assist farmers to move towards safer ecological
methods in agriculture, free of toxic chemicals, would be crucial to protect
human health and the environment.